The press appears dumbfounded by Glenn Beck’s popularity. Then again, the American press isn’t known for its acumen. I am equally puzzled, however, by Beck’s popularity among American evangelicals. Why? Because Glenn Beck is a Mormon.
Should that really matter, you ask? Should a pundit or politician’s religious views really be a concern of ours? I mean, what does it matter if someone believes a different set of commandments than ours? As long as they respect the constitution and don’t undermine our religious liberties, what does it matter if someone is a Mormon, a Scientologist , or a voodoo priestess? Well, it shouldn’t… as long as they keep their religion out of their platform.
Which is what Glenn Beck is NOT doing.
For example, Beck opened his “Restoring Honor” rally at the Washington Monument last weekend with these words,
“Something beyond imagination is happening. Something that is beyond man is happening. America today begins to turn back to God.”
What followed was a speech laced with religion and nationalism. At one point, 240 clergy people marched forward and stood behind Beck with arms linked. Notable religious dignitaries included Southern Baptist Convention official Richard Land, pastor John Hagee, and David Barton. Said Beck,
“America, it is time to start the heart of this nation again. And put it where it belongs. Our heart with God… We can disagree on politics. We can disagree on so much. These men and women don’t agree on fundamentals. They don’t agree on everything that every church teaches. What they do agree on is that God is the answer.”
Afterward, C. L. Jackson, pastor of Houston’s Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church, prayed for the “ministry of Glenn Beck.”
Does America need to “turn back to God”? I think so. One problem with Beck leading this charge, however, is that the god of Mormonism is fundamentally different than the God of the Bible and mainstream America. In the process of playing the “God card,” Beck has moved from a political pundit to a revivalist, his gospel becoming an ecumenical / political hybrid. And that scares me. Especially when the two are confused.
I am glad to see other Christians hedging against this Beckian synthesis. Like Brannon Howse of Worldview Radio:
…Glenn has now moved into an area where we must draw a clear line theologically and doctrinally. While Christians can join Glenn in opposing tyranny, socialism, cultural Marxism, and the like… we cannot join him spiritually.
In a widely linked article, God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck, Russell Moore Dean of the School of Theology for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary writes,
Mormonism and Mammonism are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They offer another Lord Jesus than the One offered in the Scriptures and Christian tradition… Any “revival” that is possible without the Lord Jesus Christ is a “revival” of a different kind of spirit than the Spirit of Christ (1 Jn. 4:1-3).
The answer to this scandal isn’t a retreat, as some would have it, to an allegedly apolitical isolation. Such attempts lead us right back here, in spades, to a hyper-political wasteland. If the churches are not forming consciences, consciences will be formed by the status quo, including whatever demagogues can yell the loudest or cry the hardest. The answer isn’t a narrowing sectarianism, retreating further and further into our enclaves. The answer includes local churches that preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and disciple their congregations to know the difference between the kingdom of God and the latest political whim.
It’s sad to see so many Christians confusing Mormon politics or American nationalism with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Beck phenomenon may, in fact, illuminate a terrible deficiency within evangelicalism. For when churches do not “form [the] consciences” of their members, those members will have their consciences formed elsewhere. The Glen Beck “revival” may be indicative of evangelical churches inability to equip their members to discern the slippery religious / political divide and the difference between the kingdom of God and Man. Even more scary is the possibility that evangelicals are so desirous for a return to power that they are willing to sacrifice theological distinctions at the altar of politics.
For the record: I have less problem with Glenn Beck’s politics than his religion. And right now, he’s putting religion front and center. As a Mormon, Glenn Beck believes that God was once a man who lived on the planet Kolob, who through perfect obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel (that is, the Mormon gospel), became a god and now rules over planet earth in a universe populated by many ascended gods (that is, fellow Mormon deities). Sorry, but this is weird.
If it came down to it, I could stand alongside Beck and wave the stars and stripes. But joining hands and singing Kumbaya is another story.
My pastor and I had a long conversation about this last week and he brought it up in his sermon this morning. In some ways I feel conflicted. Beck connects the dots in ways other seem unwilling to. I find myself closer to his views about government than most. But, as Paul rebuked the evil spirit in a slave girl who was proclaimed Paul was preaching truth, we cannot lock arms with one who denies the one true gospel. All truth is God’s truth so when Beck speaks truth I nod in affirmation. When he calls me to join him in prayer I cannot because he follows a false god. Truth cuts all directions.
I agree Mike. In addition, Beck’s tv show and rallies are tools that powerful politicians are using to direct conservative (righteous) anger for their own benefit. If the people really knew what was going on in the DC cesspool concerning BOTH parties, there would be a REAL second revolution. But the truth of the matter is, the idea of the Tea Party which was created by true indies and true Libertarians during the Ron Paul campaign, has been co-opted (a nice way of saying “stolen”) and corrupted by Beck and the Republican party, and it is being skillfully used to channel anger at the Democrats to get votes. Beck’s ideas aren’t new, he “borrowed” them from what Libertarians have been saying for years – except for the war issue. People should stop thinking that political parties will save them, and read their bible. People have short memories. This govt. has been going down the tubes for a long time. Obama didn’t start it. He’s just continuing the insanity. Republican and Democrat mean nothing. Beck is a shill for the state, and a heretic. Nothing more, nothing less.
Don’t won’t to turn this into a debate but I think going the other way and pasting Beck as the problem is a mistake as well. Beck is a symptom not the disease. To call him a shill of the state and tool of Republicans means someone has inside and verifiable information I do not. For all I know Glen Beck sincerely believe he is doing what is best for the country. That isn’t even the issue with me. I don’t care who has been saying some of the things he is saying now. Somehow he has articulated it in a way some are listening. I just want to remind Christians we cannot bow down with Baal no matter well he says things.
I think that Christendom (perhaps more narrowly, evangelicals) is just quick to find a hero–a rallying point. It seems to take very little effort for someone in the public eye to be considered a hero among Christians. Look at Mel Gibson. The man says he’s a devout Catholic in an interview, makes “The Passion of the Christ” and all of a sudden churches are backing this man like he’s the new Billy Graham. THEN what happens? He turns out to be an abusive racist or whatever. Whoops. Wrong move, evangelicals. Then, you had that one beauty queen (Prejean, I believe) who opposed gay marriage. Bam! She’s suddenly the spokesperson for upholding traditional Christian values on Focus on the Family. Then what happens? Eight sex tapes. Oooh… Wrong move again, evangelicals. I’m not knocking evangelicals, at all! I belong to, what my pastor would consider to be an “evangelical” church–but I agree with your quote in your original post. As evangelicals, it seems the focus too many times is on “getting them saved” with very, very little real discipleship. That seems to breed a whole slew of people who are easily swayed by anyone who, on the surface, speaks the lingo (re: says something about God and prayer) and has conservative political views. We need to be discerning of who we make out to be the “public face” of the Christian faith. I realize that we live in a hostile world (hostile against Christians) and sometimes we see someone in the spotlight who seems to be “one of us” and we pounce on them wanting them to represent our community in the public eye so that we might gain some power or street cred or what-have-you. But we gotta be careful who we rally behind, absolutely.
Incidentally, I also think I watched a special on Mormons that said that their religion teaches that the damned souls that sided with Lucifer or something became…black people… Hm. Weird, indeed.
Eight sex tapes? Huh. Missed that one.
Suzan, I agree with Tim. I’m not ready to paint this as conspiratorial. There is a genuine dissatisfaction among Americans with politics as usual, bloated government, high taxes, and shrinking of personal liberties. Frankly, if Beck has “co-opted” a Libertarian message, I don’t care. He is speaking to something that resonates. I just wish he’d stop playing the “God card.” Which is the point of this post.
I agree with the point of the post, and I am sorry to veer off, although I stand by my comments. Calling things “conspiratorial” is stereotyping, but that’s okay by me. Lots of conspiracies over the years have turned out to be true. Beck is an employee of a company, and he isn’t free to say and do anything he wants. He has to answer to someone, and people in high places with a lot of money and power have agendas that they want to push. The truth will eventually be revealed in the end, anyway. It’s just painful to see so many Christians fall for political salvation.
Thank you for being bold enough to come out and question the current evangelical mob mentality. I think the man (and his sudden popularity) is a little bit scary.
“For when churches do not “form [the] consciences” of their members, those members will have their consciences formed elsewhere.”
my personal experience in evangelical churches is that they have backed off getting ‘too close’ to their members. they don’t want to interfer in anyone’s life … and everybody has free will, free choice etc. yes. but there is only one Truth. i teach my girls all the time (till they roll their eyes at me sometimes) that they can believe whatever they want to believe, but it doesn’t change Truth … so they can believe the Truth or the lie. they choose. but we’ve gotta know the Truth if we are going to be capable of discerning the lie.
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“Even more scary is the possibility that evangelicals are so desirous for a return to power that they are willing to sacrifice theological distinctions at the altar of politics.”
the end does not justify the means.
and the Truth is that all Power is from God … and the power of God lives within believers through the Holy Spirit. “sacrificing theological distinctions at the alter of politics” is a lot easier than sacrificing our lives at the alter of God by living out His Truth in our lives.
This is the problem I’ve had with evangelicals and politics for some time. I feel like many evangelical churches I’ve seen, instead of teaching Christians a Biblical worldview on some of these issues, just push them towards a political platform. I think this Beck stuff is completely symptomatic of a greater issue of Christians not thinking Biblically when it comes to politics, and it’s downright scary to me. The thing that really resonated with me in the Moore article was that God is going to build His church somewhere, and it won’t necessarily be in America if we are swept up in this false doctrine. It’s a really saddening thought, and I hope we can turn back to the Gospel first and foremost. I feel like so often it’s Father, Son and the Republican Party that’s replaced our trinity.
Glenn Beck does himself a disservice, I think, when he gets too serious. He is best as a commedian/political commentator. I had to stop listening to him because after every show I felt the world was coming to an end. Yes, he’s connecting dots, but what if he’s connecting the wrong dots and creating the wrong picture?
I heard some sound bites from the rally. I didn’t know it was him as I was listening. I thought it was a preacher, and found myself thinking, “this isn’t the type of preacher I could stand to listen to for very long.” I can’t put my finger on why, but I suspect it has to do with his mix of nationalism and God talk. I find thinking…who are you, what are your credentials, have you even gone to seminary? And yes, there’s the whole Mormon thing. And also the former alcoholic thing, which I’m not judging…I just know a thing or two about addiction and about the addiction ameoba. Another reason I stopped listening to him is because more and more it seemed he’d traded one addiction for another…the current addiction being drama as evidenced by his seemingly constant inclination that it’s all a conspiracy and that the world as we know it is going to end soon.
Like I said, I enjoy his interesting spin on politics and his comedy. Those are his strengths.
For the record, I like Beck. I agree with him 100%.
On the rally…I liked the rally and am glad it happened.
However, you are right. My husband and I had that same conversation. We need to pray that people close to him are talking to him about the God of the Bible. While it was good for country, it was not good for those who do not read the Bible and who do or do not go to church. They might think and believe that Mormonism and Christianity are the same, and they are not.
Hopefully, he’s one of those mormon newbies who will figure that out. It’s the ones who grew up in it that are really indoctrinated. The newbies usually don’t know much about the religion they are in and are easily pursuaded back to Christ.
Hopefully, that’s the case with Beck.
A little late, but I still wanted to give my two cents, especially after reading some of the comments. Which, to be blunt, are IMO symptomatic of the reason the church is so impotent in this country right now.
I agree with you, Mike, We need to proceed with caution. But I think we can never underestimate the ability of God to use a man. Whatever man that may be. Even Pontius Pilot had a moment of clarity enough to wash his hands.
I’ve been watching Beck since his years on CNN and he has always been saying what he’s saying about the government (calling out dems and repubs alike). He is not a shill for anyone–what man would open himself up to such mockery and hatred for someone else? His heart is good, I believe, and his story of transformation inspiring. He has only recently (the last several months or so) been bring God into his show in Ernest to get ready for his rally. And only to say we must get on our knees, repent and turn back to God (which the Bible does mention we need to do so that our land can be healed). He doesn’t say we have to become Mormon. Theology has never entered the discussion. Believe me, I’ve been watching for it.
More and more I feel like we, as evangelicals here in America, have lost a grip on what we have been blessed with. We have not been good stuarts of our land and corruption has crept in through the back door when we weren’t looking. And in some respects this same disease has also entered the church. We no longer hold our leaders accountable and we listen to lies and brush them off as if a man has a right to lie to achieve a goal.
So, when a man steps forward and calls people to account should we say we’re better than him and thumb our nose because he’s basically a Pagan with values? No, we should thank Heaven a man was found that would risk his own life to stand up for what is right in principle. I think even God will bless those that obey the law here on earth, if not in the afterlife.
And perhaps we can no longer sit at the sidelines and pass off stuarting this country as filthy work for the dirty politician. Maybe we need to begin to wake up and realize there is more at stake than how high our taxes will go. It’s a matter of life and death for our Nation–and I don’t think I’m being mellow dramatic. All you have to do is put your ear to the ground and you can hear the pillars cracking.
And, yes, I realize God will take care of His people, but I think Israel learned the hard way that repentance as a nation usually worked out better for them if they did it before a hammer fell, otherwise it was that whole desert roaming, sold-into-slavery thing. Not sure about you, but I kinda don’t want to do that last bit.
And as a side note to Suzan: I’m afraid you have the Tea Party origin misstated. It actually came from the outburst of an ABC correspondent on the trading floor, yelling at Obama on live TV that he wanted people to meet him at the harbor, I think somewhere at the Great Lakes–I’d have to look the exact quote up–to throw tea. It went viral and others took it up and rally’s were planned for the day the ABC anchor had said, all over the nation. Then it just took off and everyone from Libertarians to moderates have gathered in support and groups have sprouted up all over. I watched it all happen, so trust me. I had nothing to do for the first year of Obama’s term but watch TV because of severe illness and ended up watching news a lot to feel more a part of the rest of humanity–even though usually it just stressed me out…lol.